Behold,

  God is my salvation;

I will trust,

and will not be afraid;

for the LORD GOD

    is my strength

    and my song,

and He has become

            my salvation.

          Isaiah 12. 2

(Even in this,

trusting God

is the first step

   in not being afraid.

God is not a belief system,

    but the Almighty One,

He on Whom

    I can stake my life.

No matter what.)

O LORD,

In every divine encounter,

every unexpected appointment,

everything we face,

      no matter how daunting,

You are with us.

Your Presence may not change

           the circumstances,

but changes how I see You,

how I see the situation,

how I see others,

how I see myself,

and how I trust You in it.

Fill us, O LORD,

    with Your strength

till these storms pass by.

And know You are with us

     now and henceforth

                   ever more.

 

When I am afraid,

I put my trust in You.

In God,

    whose Word I praise,

in God I trust;

I shall not be afraid.

What can flesh do to me?

          Psalm 56. 3-4

(Fill in the blank:

   When I am afraid, I _____.

What are my defaults?

Despair? Worry? Anxiety?

May those triggers

    --and we all have them--

instead

   strengthen us ever more

               intimately in Him.

May we not despair,

     but sing even louder,

and not be distracted

  from His steadfast love.

"Trust Me in this."

In God I trust.

In God I praise.)

O LORD,

If we knew,

if we trusted You,

if we sought You in this,

      fear could not cling.

Help us 

   to put our trust in You.

You do not just show up,

   but we are the

   late ones to the party.

You are already here

              with us.

You are already in this,

   and we are unaware.

You are already

      bringing forth

      something new.

And we are blinded

  and handicapped

  by our worry,

when we should

  have our shoes tied on,

  ready to run with You.

What is visibly different

                about us?

May we engrave on our lives,

    "In God I trust."

May it be Your Presence.

 

But He said to me,

"My grace is sufficient for you,

for My power is made

      perfect in weakness."

...For the sake of Christ then,

I am content

with weakness, insults,

hardships, persecutions,

             and calamities.

For when I am weak,

   then I am strong.

         2 Corinthians 13. 9-10

(Everyone struggles

         with something.

And God's grace,

    strength and power

are more than enough

not just to cover it

  but to sustain us through.

Yes, this situation is more than

           we can handle.

But He can.

And His Presence

        is made evident.

For the sake of Christ then,

we can face anything

     with His strength

to point others to Him.)

O LORD,

Help us to not be overcome

    by despair,

but be overwhelmed by

      Your strength.

Help us to realize

that our struggles

    reveal our need for You.

And that we are

        not alone in this.

Forgive us

  for not turning sooner

  to ask Your help

  and walk with You.

It is not that You will

          bring us through,

but You are

              with us.

 And I heard

the voice of the Lord

saying,

“Whom shall I send

and who will go for us?”

Then I said,

“Here am I!

        Send me.”

        Isaiah 6. 8

(Am I willing to listen?

Am I willing to respond?

Am I willing to go?

Am I willing to stay?

Not a matter of a 

      reluctant “have to,”

but an eager “get to.”

God is at work.

Am I willing to 

   follow Him into it,

out of love for Him?)

O LORD,

Here we are.

Send us.

You have opened 

        divine appointments 

all around us.

Grant us the vision

and courage

and joy

to walk with You

     into the unexpected,

     the difficult,

     even right where we are.

You are

   the upholder of our lives

 Tell the righteous 

that it shall be 

      well for them,

for they shall eat

  the fruit of their deeds.

             Isaiah 3. 10

(Circumstances 

     don’t change the fruit

God brings out of

  faithfulness to Him.

Stay at our post,

stand in the gap,

do with excellence 

   what He has strategically 

   placed before us.

No act of faithfulness 

    is ever insignificant.

God is bearing fruit

   even when we cannot

        yet see it,

even in the hard places,

fruit that sustains 

   beyond our lives.)

O LORD,

Help us to know 

Your hand upon us,

Your fruit through us,

Your Presence 

   even in the dark valley.

Even in turmoil,

       You are with us.

Your Presence changes

    how we see,

    what we see,

and how we respond.

You are using us

     as salt and light.

And circumstances 

         don’t change that.

 Cease to do evil,

learn to do good,

seek justice,

correct oppression 

bring justice 

   to the fatherless,

plead the widow’s cause.

               Isaiah 1. 16-17

(“Walk with Me.”

This is what it looks like.

This is what happens,

   wherever we may be.

A new heart,

transformed by Christ,

sees beyond the confines 

         of our own lives.)

O LORD, 

Teach us Your ways

that we may walk

      in Your paths

and in Your light.

Help us to

   intentionally follow You,

aware of Your Presence,

bringing Your love 

       into the chaos,

abiding in You,

and taking every thought 

        captive to You.

Help us to seek healing 

and restoration 

  in painful situations,

responsive to You,

even in the unexpected.

       

 Create in me

    a clean heart,

                 O God,

and renew a right spirit 

        within me.

            Psalm 51. 10

(Daily realignment 

     for the day ahead.

How differently do we see,

do we approach,

do we respond

   in being and doing,

if we first

    come before Him?

What are we carrying 

   that needs renewing,

that needs to be

        dragged to the altar 

and left there?)

O LORD,

We come before You 

with a lot of unnecessary        baggage 

that keeps us distracted.

Please clean our hearts that we would be aware

     of Your ways

     and respond to Your heart 

     in this day.

Align our hearts with Yours,

             O LORD.

Of all the things we do today,

   may we first

   come before You,

not for marching orders,

but in love with You.